Factors responsible for policy failures, Microeconomics

FACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR POLICY FAILURES:

It is the subject of many official and academic studies to try and find out the reasons for the inability of many, in fact, most of the state policies to achieve their objectives, and later on even for the inability to adopt objectives sufficient to tackle major national tasks over a reasonable period of time. Just as the success of a policy prepares the ground for further successful accomplishments, the policy failures too become cumulative and make future policy process (i.e. from the identification of the agenda to the successfulimplementation of the chosen course of interventions) become the victim ofpast inadequacies, distortion and failures. A long period of continuation ofsuch implementation failures has become the Achilles' heel of India'sdevelopment policy experience. Many policy analyses have pointed outseveral factors ranging from national character, population pressure, political,bureaucratic and business elite values and modes of behaviour, legacy ofcolonialism and the domineering policies of the rich countries and themultilateral global organisation they control, including the adverse, improperpolicy advice, kibitzing and interference by the rich countries by means ofperipatetic advisers, to lack of technical expertise and proper appreciation ofthe narrow, vested interests hidden as international 'development' expertise,transparency, accountability, widespread corruption, lack of popular peoples'organisation for active participation in democratic state processes, especially for want of any steps to provide the minimum essential conditions of existenceto the masses endowed with voting rights, etc. as responsible for the policyfailures in India.

In addition to the above general factors, for every specific policy, a set of particular factors have often been identified. Many experts, committees, commission, international consultants too have made significant contribution towards the identification of the roots of the malaise affecting policy processes and governance in India. Some follow up action too has occasionally been initiated. But unfortunately, the problems and impasse seem to be becoming increasingly intractable. Even a major policy shift like the one towards liberalisation, privatisation, globalisation in the early 1990s seems to have become stuck in the deep-seated morass of cozy, crony relationships and partial, unrealistic analysis of the underlying reality. In addition to the neglect of popular concerns, at least some of the factors are still crying for attention.

For example, many tax reforms, public debt management, public expenditure and fiscal stabilisation related measures have been carried out. But the fiscal crunch continues. Similarly, liberalisation of industrial licensing has not succeeded in improving the share of manufacturing either in GDP or employment of workforce. External debt continues its upward spiral as the domestic policies are modified in order to win the confidence and approbation of the international financial operators so necessary for continued ability to borrow abroad.